My husband and I plan to go to Ireland at the end of September beginning of Ocotber and are thinking of driving from Dublin to Shannon via the southern towns. What guide book or books do you recommend?

Thank you in advance for your suggestions!

"Let's Go" and Lonely Planet are aimed at the college crowd, so their emphasis is on cheap. LP also gives good background on an area. I used it last summer with no complaints. However, neither of these books are updated every year, and in a city like Dublin a year can make a big difference so information can get out of date quickly.

I also used Rick Steves' book last summer (it's updated annually), and also was quite pleased with it. It is aimed more at the adult novice traveler, so it has a lot of good tips they might not think of. I also liked his do-it-yourself tour of the Dingle peninsula and the simplified maps of various towns.

Fodor's is also good, of course, but I didn't use it for Ireland. I usually take portions of 2 or 3 guidebooks with me since the information they have does not completely overlap.

I will look into Rick Steve's book and fodor's and maybe take LP and Let's Go out of the Library to see what recomendations they make. Thank you for the suggestions.

I'm not a big fan of the Steve's book for Ireland. His tour of Dingle is quite good but he only includes places that he thinks you should see and leaves out many amazing places in between. His suggestion is that he is preventing from wasting time by only sending you to the important places. It's my guess that he just hasn't been to the little and frequently more interesting places, so he doesn't cover them.

I have a number of books that I like. One is the book put oult by Bord Failte the Irish tourist board simply called "Ireland Guide". I found it in a Barnes and Noble, but I'm sure it can be found elsewhere. One of the nice inclusions in this book is the what to do on a rainy day for most areas.

Also consider Michele Erdwig's "Best Little Guide to Ireland", which is no longer very little. It's a good book to carry with amd she updates it every year so most of the information is very current. The new book is probably due out near the end of March. Contact her at her website at irelandyes.com. She has a very useful forum and is always happy to give advice both as a supplement to her book or just on it's own.

The Michelin Green Guides are quite good but are arranged annoyingly in alphabetical order instead of by area, so you have to do some jumping around. These are loaded with nice pics that can give you a good idea of where you just MUST go. They also have the popular rating system of "Worth a Journey", "Worth a visit (or something like that)" and "Interesting" though I don't agree with all of them and sometimes the "interestings" are well worth a journey.

The DK guides are nice too.

Hope this helps. It's off the top of my head and I have about a dozen books so that's all I can remember.

Bill

We have used Karen Brown's Inns and Itineraries in several European countries. www.karenbrown.com

I most heartily agree with Bill. I just finished Rick Steves book recently and thought some of his suggestions were just plain weird. Such as: if you want to find a B&B just ask anyone on the street, his outright condemnation of Killarney and Bunratty Castle & Folk Park, and his skipping over huge areas of Ireland. (I, too, tend to think that he and his co-author have not been to other areas in Ireland, so do not include them in the book.)

I was quite amused by his "recommendation" of a guesthouse with "15 tight, musty rooms, none with a private bathroom". If that is what he is recommending in Ireland, heaven help the tourists that follow his advice!!

I really like the DK Eyewitness books. But the first would be the National Geographic ones. Because when you see the pictures you can get a sense of the place before going there. And you can picture yourself being there.

LDK, I think it really depends on what information you're looking to get from your guide book.

Now personally, I do like the LP books as a resource because I'm rarely opposed to saving money where possible. Mostly though, I like their approach with the Ireland book for walks and the amount of information about less freqented places.

The Eyewitness guide is great for a primer. It has photos to help clue you in on what a place offers (how many "pleasant village" descriptions can you read before they sound exactly alike?). They also have great beginners courses in national history, logistics, how-to's, currency, etc.

Ultimately though, I tend to use books for "what to do", and not so much on where to stay or where to eat. It seems like books become outdated to quickly to depend on those sorts of recommendations and just can't cover all the places available. I tend to use the internet for lodging resources and my nose for finding meals, so I'm sure that colors my priorities in choosing guide books.

Thank you to all of you for your assitance. I am looking for a book that will tell me about things to do and points out the little hidden places so it seems that Rick Steves book is not the one for me. I will take a look at all of these books and then choose one to purchase. Thanks again.

I find that the DK Eyewitness books have the best practical information. I really like that the photos in the books show what your going to see, eat, and feel before you get there. It has helped us find many off-the-beaten-path sites as well as learn what to avoid.

LDK,

There are many good and practical guidebooks on Ireland, but one that has yet to be mentioned - and one that has served me quite well for many years - is the Rough Guide to Ireland.

In recent years this generally excellent series of guides has taken on a more polished, colorful, top-ten list-oriented style ("best of" lists are particularly popular in the industry right now, such as DK and Fodor's Citypacks), and yet Rough Guide is by no means superficial. It's a detailed, highly informative, and well written guide. It places the sights to see in historical context, and it works as a fine companion for the backpacker and those seeking a few more creature comforts in their travels. Do check out the latest edition of the Rough Guide to Ireland. (If memory serves, it's now in its seventh edition.)

A closing note about Rick Steves' guide to Erin: The guide does have its limitations, but it should be quite worthwhile for the first-time traveler to Ireland. Indeed, Steves' section on the Dingle Peninsula is worth seeking out, as there's a highly detailed tour of Slea Head and its environs. This area is one of Ireland's true touristic highlights, and Steves is quite passionate about this corner of Ireland. If you're not willing to spring for the price of the Steves guide, make a point of photocopying this particular section of the book. It'll be time well spent.

Best of luck.

I just finished reading the National Geographic Travellers Ireland, and here are the pros and cons of this book: On the plus side, it's pretty thorough, covering everything, including places like County Armagh which some other guidebooks skip. But on the minus side, it doesn't really rate things, so you end up feeling like everything is either a MUST-SEE or is hauntingly beautiful! Also it's kind of an educational book, NOT a practical book. It skips a lot of practical tips included in other travel guides, but it gives you a good education about Ireland.

The best guidebook series overall is the AAA Spiral Guide. It is not as in depth as some, but it is the best organized, has excellent graphics and really helps with planning.

The DK books are good, but they are so blasted heavy that they are a pain to carry.

I wouldn't buy it or take with with me, but the "Ten Best" Series is the best for an introduction. It really gives you a quick idea of the best stuff there. I don't know if there is one for Ireland.

I love the DK Eyewitness books...I buy them on places I may never go, but it gives me a great colorful overview of the culture, sites, history etc to get to know a place better rather than just a book listing hotels, etc. with no photos...Sam's Club usually has alot of them and they are cheaper there..